brucegre

First, my apologies to whoever is driving in this video, my intent isn't to embarass or belittle, but it is such a good example of a basic timing mistake in heel and toe that I thought it might be useful.

http://www.aimsports.com/video/policastro2.mov

I was checking out the DaVid system, and as I watched the video I thought there was lag between the video and audio at first. Watch the feet, and listen to the sound. The right foot execution is pretty good, on the brakes, blip the throttle - but then there's a significant pause before letting out the clutch, and you can hear the engine rev up from the blip, rev back down and then rev up again from the clutch release. This is the most common mistake I see once people have mastered the braking/blipping part. The clutch has to be released as soon as the engine has revved up.

If someone has good video of a well timed H&T, feel free to add it to the post.

Larry Herman

Bruce, you guys can critique mine. http://vimeo.com/4029414 It is turns 1 through 4 at Daytona. 1 & 4 I get exactly right as you can hear from the smooth blip and seemless deceleration. Turns 2 & 3 I downshift a touch early as you can hear the revs jump a little bit when I let the clutch back out.

brucegre

Hi Larry, no critique from here - you already provided it. And that is a great example all in one vid of getting the timing perfect vs. missing by just a little bit.

You'll notice there is no video up from me

TR6

I sometimes suffer from the same timing problem when I H/T. I can definitely feel it when I get the clutch release timing wrong. In the extreme, it can really upset the car. Likewise, I have made the mistake of revving the engine too high while releasing the clutch which makes the car suddenly "lurch" forward with acceleration as you release the clutch. H/T is something of an artform.

va122

I had a nasty 140mph spin when I missed my blip in a race. Needless to say, code brown.

brucegre

That's why I didn't post my video

mark kibort

another words, it sounds good, but he is missing the advantage of heal toe'ing because he is wearing the synchros as if he wasnt.

APKhaos

Toasty clutch smell is the sure sign of less then perfect heel-toe downshifting.
Its interesting how a simple comment to a student, "Smell that? Its you clutch, but it wont happen when you get your downshifts perfected." can get 'em focused.

mark kibort

you shouldnt get much clutch wear with bad heal toe. In this case, its like he didnt do it at all to begin with. that just wears sycnhros I would think.
It also could help in causing some rear instability, as he is on the brakes hard, with the clutch in. any rear brake bias that is substantial, could lock the rears. having the rears in gear, is kind of like a natural abs, when attached to the engine.

opus

Now, for some correct heel and toe action... .not from me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8-zbfdPfRg

d15b7

here's an example of mine, from last weekend's races at VIR:

http://www.vimeo.com/3915803

it had been threatening to rain, right up til 15 mins to racetime; i gambled that it would hold off and went with my dry tires... my drys are Toyo RA-1s, but this was their 11th race; they were totally worn down, not even the two round grooves were remaining; pretty much slick tires.... of course, during the pace lap, it began to rain and progressively got heavier and heavier, til at the end it was really coming down!

had to be nice and smooth, driving fast in those conditions, with those tires on. i have to shift up and down a little bit slower than some others, due to the fact that the synchros are really worn (many tens of thousands of race miles on it); if i rush it at all, the box 'crunches' in 2nd and 3rd. if i get it just right, and at a moderate pace, it slips right in with no problem.

todd
ReidSpeed

PS was the eventual class winner, and 4th overall; the three other cars in front of me had on wets! (the #2 and #3 cars got me on the last lap, at the top of roller coaster; split me like a block of wood!).

Veloce Raptor

IMO this is the key take-away in this thread. Many, many folks try to shift WAY too fast. That fact is, most of us aren't Leh Keen when it comes to downshifting, and shouldn't try to be.

Slow it down, get it right, and you'll end up faster overall.






Professional Racing and Driving Coach

APKhaos

^^ +1
Many early stage drivers drive slow as Moses but insist on 'crash' shifting as if this might make them look faster. It takes a bit of convincing to get them smoothed out.

TedA

I own this technique....

93 FireHawk 968

Nothing like watching "Pro's" tap dance in their footwell.... An art that takes a lot of practice to do in all driving settings.